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The Road Home by Rose Tremain

29. November 2011

The quote from that great novel of economic migration, The Grapes of Wrath at the beginning of Rose Tremain’s The Road Home, can leave us in little doubt as to her intensions with this sympathetic, timely story of Lev, an Eastern European and who travels to London. A middle-aged widower with a young daughter and [...]

Review Of ‘Vixen’ by Jillian Larkin

10. November 2011

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Title: Vixen by Jillian Larkin Random House: Delacorte Press, 421 pages, 2010. Reviewed by: S.I. Jillian Larkin’s Vixen is the first novel in The Flapper series, a young adult series set during the Roaring Twenties. The novel is akin to the Luxe and Bright Young Things series by Anna Godbersen, and though it’s Larkin’s debut, [...]

Review Of Marilynne Robinson’s Book, ‘Home’

29. October 2011

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Title: Home Author: Marilynne Robinson New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 325 pages Reviewed by: M.H. “Ye who are weary, come home.” Home is a tender and profoundly nostalgic text about family and the passing of generations. It is set in the 1950s in the town of Gilead, Iowa, and told mainly from the [...]

The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook

15. October 2011

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Numerous cookbooks exist, but here’s one with a difference – Rachel Saunders’ The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, which features more than 100 recipes for jams, preserves and marmalades. Undoubtedly, this book is perfect for anyone who dreams of “putting up” their favorite fruits for future use (in the kitchen). It’s arranged by season for the [...]

Review Of Jo Beverley’s The Secret Wedding

6. June 2011

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Jo Beverley is known for her thoroughly researched novels, filled with as much heart-stopping romance as they are with intricate historical detail. Beverley studied history, which adds to the richness of her novels. The Secret wedding is the second novels in her Geogian Secret trilogy. Like the other novels in the trilogy, The Secret Wedding [...]

Review – The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi, Polly Mclean, and Khaled Hosseini

17. January 2011

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Title: The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi, Polly Mclean, and Khaled Hosseini Translated from the French by Polly McLean Other Press, January 2010. 160 pages. Buy it online: @Amazon This is a beautiful small book. It sits on my table, compact. The cover is has a pretty script, and depicts a smooth, metal-dark stone, lying [...]

Review Of High Rhulain (Redwall)

6. January 2011

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The trouble with young adult fantasy is that many of the novels are not stand-alone books, but part of a series. High Rhulain (pronounced roo-lane) is the 18th book in Brian Jacques’ Redwall saga, yet what sets it apart is that, like most Redwall books, is that it can be read on its own. Certainly, [...]

Short Review – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

23. August 2010

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Summer’s not done yet, and if you haven’t already read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson, double-back to your nearest bookstore or get it online fast @Amazon. This final book in Larsson’s Millennium crime fiction trilogy is an adrenaline rush, and is being touted as the best being saved for last. [...]

Short Review – The Imperfectionists – By Tom Rachman

6. July 2010

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The Imperfectionists is a novel by journalist-turned-novelist, Tom Rachman, and is described by some as a ‘delightful read’. A tragicomedy reminiscent of Joshua Ferris’ recent hit Then We Came To The End, The Imperfectionists is also set in the workplace, at a fictional newspaper in Rome during the dying days of newsprint. The book is [...]

Book Review – Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

13. May 2009

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Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment by Steve Harvey These days most of the talk among single woman is about relationships and finding men who are willing and even more importantly happy to commit. Single women search for opinions and advice from anyone [...]

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